Some of the discs I purchased are not working with my drive. What should I do?

If you encounter a situation where some discs burn/record without issue and then the next one - from the same package - isn't even recognized you may want to conclude that the discs are defective. However, discs are rarely manufactured defective. What you may be experiencing is a drive-disc compatibility issue.

Drives wear out over time and usage. The laser weakens and can create situations where a disc is not recognized or will not burn properly. This can happen with discs from the same package.

Drives need to be maintained and their firmware updated to include new releases of disc MID codes.

Not to be confused with automatic system updates for software and/or drivers, the firmware update is usually published by the PC manufacturer or the drive manufacturer. You can find it by checking their websites first and then trying a search for the drive type and firmware version. (See separate article on how to find drive information.) This firmware updates the list of MID codes programmed in the drive and sets a write strategy for each one included in the update. When this is complete the drive is able to recognize more discs which improves the drive-disc compatibility and allows you to use a variety of discs.

If this has happened to you, here is a flowchart of steps to perform to remedy the situation.

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